


Sleeping Dogs Lie

by witchbreaker



Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, M/M, No Apocalypse, No angels, Skinwalker!Cas, season four au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-11
Updated: 2015-03-10
Packaged: 2018-02-17 01:14:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 14,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2291549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/witchbreaker/pseuds/witchbreaker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel's not sure how he went from hunting supernatural beings and keeping his pack safe to pretending to be the infamous Winchesters' dog. What he is sure of is that he needs to keep the Winchesters from figuring out he's a skinwalker and track down his pack who has mysteriously vanished. Those goals shouldn't be too difficult to achieve...right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Castiel walked into his house and immediately knew something was wrong. 

"Anna? Jimmy?" There was no reply. His pack wasn't here and, unless his nose was lying to him, they hadn't been here in a long time. At least since last week when he had left to see if the rumors of a large werewolf pack forming in New York were true. They had been, but a group of hunters had taken care of them before Castiel had arrived. Had the same hunters branched out their hunt? They shouldn't have come here. Castiel's pack didn't attack humans instead they took care of other supernatural monsters to keep people safe and hunters off their backs. But if it wasn't hunters than why had everyone disappeared without leaving a note? 

Searching the entire house, he found nothing missing. Clothes were stacked neatly in their drawers, the bathrooms were full of supplies, Jimmy's Bible was still on his dresser, Claire's photo album that she took with her everywhere was on its shelf, everyone's cellphone were connected to the charger in the kitchen. 

Getting antsy, Castiel stripped down and shift into dog form. His sense of smell was better that way. He left his house to check the rest of the town. Unfortunately, it only confirmed that his family was missing. Castiel couldn't even find a whiff of them. Even the church that Jimmy frequented at least three times a week and the coffee shop that Anna worked in were barren of their scent. Starting to panic, Castiel ran through the town in a grid pattern. He got lucky near the woods that bordered it. Jimmy's scent was still clinging to a few of the trees. Castiel followed it at full speed. He could tell Jimmy had been in dog form when he came this way and Jimmy NEVER took his alternate form. When Castiel reached a road, he picked up Anna's scent as well and sped up. 

It was no wonder that he missed the car. 

"Jesus Christ Dean! Just give me a hand!" Castiel vaguely heard as he lay on the asphalt. There was no silver involved but getting hit by the car had broken one of his hind legs and squashed his ribs. "Good doggy, good boy. I'm just going to see what's hurt okay?" Castiel whined when the man prodded his bleeding stomach. "Good boy, such a good boy. Dean, hand me the water bottle." 

"Catch Sam."

Castiel caught sight of another man, Dean, tossing a water bottle to Sam. The bigger man used it to clean his wounds and then bandage him up. Before he knew it, he was being lifted up and placed in the back of a car. He felt himself losing consciences as the adrenaline faded from his system. The last thing he caught was a "shut up jerk." from Sam.


	2. Chapter 2

The smell of cheap liquor, old sex, and cotton are the first things that Castiel notices when he wakes up. The itch around his ribs and the inability to move his injured leg is another. Lifting his head he can see that his ribs have been bandaged and his leg is in a splint. It's a good job too. He can feel everything slowly pulling itself back together properly. In a week or so he'll be back in tip top shape. Sam must be a vet or some kind of doctor. 

"Bitch!" Dean calls out as shuts a door. Castiel focuses on his surroundings and notes that he's in a motel room. It's tacky with original 50s decor that's been worn down and chipped long past the point where Castiel would have replaced it. Dean appears to have ducked into the bathroom if the sound of running water is any indication. Sam is sitting down at a table using a laptop. He's a young man perhaps just out of college. His hair is floppy and just long enough to brush against his jacket which is covering at least two other shirts. The way he's hunched over his computer reminds Castiel of Jimmy pouring over religious texts. 

A pang of fear runs through him. How is suppose to find his pack like this? They have to be in danger and now Castiel is stuck in a middle of nowhere motel with two men that are probably trying to figure out which pound to drop him off at. 

"Got anything?" Dean came out of the bathroom, wiping his hands on his pants as he did so. He was scrawnier than Sam, hair cropped short in almost military like precision. Freckles dusted his face and there was a swagger in his movements that Sam lacked. The two were definitely related though. If Castiel couldn't have smelled the connection in their blood, the way Dean teased Sam about slacking off while the bigger was suppose to be doing research was a dead give away. If he had to guess, Castiel would say the two are brothers. Dean catches Castiel's eyes and nudges his brother. 

"Your doggy is up." Sam turn his attention to him and smiles. 

"Hey boy, how you doing?" The human's tone is soft and reassuring. Castiel wags his tail slightly at it. Sam leaves the chair and kneels beside the bed that Castiel was left on. "Hungry?" Castiel wags harder. "Awesome, I've got some things that you should be able to eat." 

A cored apple and the meat out of someone's sandwich was put in front of him. Castiel devours them, his last meal seeming far away at the moment. That thought brings him back to his pack and how long he might have been asleep. It doesn't feel like it was that long, but he can't be sure. Sam carefully checks over his injures as he eats and looks satisfied. Once Castiel is finished, he fakes going back to sleep. Sam goes back to his computer and debates with Dean on whether they should drop him off at a pound or the vet. There's a pound nearby, but the vet is apparently two towns over in the opposite direction that Dean wants to go. Castiel silently votes for the vet's office as it is more likely he'll be able to escape from that then a pound. 

Of course they agree on the pound. The silver lining is that they decided to drop Castiel off in the morning which gives him more time to heal. With any luck, he'll only have to spend a few days there before being able to escape. The conversation switches to what routes to take after they leave town and Castiel nods off for real. He's awakened by Sam's hand brushing against his head. He jerks at it causing his ribs to complain. 

"Hey, it's okay. It's just me." Castiel relaxes and thumps his tail. That appears to convince Sam that he is fine as the man slips his arms and picks him up. "We're going on a short trip."

"The dog better not bleed over the seat again." Castiel doesn't need to look up to know that Sam is rolling his eyes. 

"Stop complaining. You're the one that insisted on moving him before I had him bandaged all the way." The taller man, jostles Castiel as he gets the back door to their Chevy Impala open. Castiel is placed in the back and the door is shut so Sam can sit shotgun. Dean is already in the driver seat, revving the engine of this massive car. Castiel sucks in a breath and catalogues what he smells. There's the scent of leather and metal of course. Cleaning agent and gasoline comes in next with salt bringing up the rear. There seems a lot of the last two in the trunk along with something that Castiel can't quite put his finger on. Rosary he decided after ruling out other options. Wait.....gasoline, salt, rosary. He lifted his head to stare at the men in the front of the car. Two brothers named Sam and Dean....they travel the country in a black Chevy Impala..... 

_Pox. Pox, pox, pox, pox,_ Castiel is trapped in the back of a car with two of the most infamous hunters who will most certainly kill him when they realize he isn't a dog. _POX_.


	3. Chapter 3

Castiel was still swearing in his head as the Impala moved through the town. When Sam glances back at him concerned and he tries to calm down. Running would be pointless. Even if he could get the door open, his leg would give out before he could go more than a few feet. The brothers clearly don't suspect what he truly is so all he has to do is pretend to be a normal canine for a few more minutes. He's passed himself off as a pet plenty of times in the past. He can do this. 

Dean flips on the radio and classic rock and roll drifts through the car. Sam makes a huff of annoyance but is otherwise silent. The younger Winchester spends the ride watching Castiel. He tries to appear harmless, but the frown on Sam's face says he doesn't succeed. The minutes crawl by. Castiel would swear that they hit every single red light. The sight of the pound floods him with relief. He's more than willing to be carried by Sam through its doors, Dean trailing behind them. There's a young lady sitting behind a desk when they arrive. She looks up and smiles, but it quickly slides off her face when she catches sight of him. 

"We're not the vet." She says before either of the brothers can open their mouths. 

"We know." Sam says. "We were hoping you could find his owner. He doesn't have a collar on him." The lady frowns. 

"He's not yours?" 

"We, uh, found him on the side of the road." Sam answers as Dean walks around the room trying to find something that will keep his attention. She squints at Castiel. 

"I don't recognize him." A door swings open an a man comes through. He groans when he sees the group. 

"Not another one." 

"Steve!" The woman chastised. The man rubs a hand over his face.

"Just get them to sign the paper work Janet, I'll get the syringes ready." Steve's gone before any of them can reply. 

"Sorry about that." Janet says, returning her attention to Sam. "It's been a rough week."

"What happened?" Dean asks. 

"We're a kill shelter. Last week a puppy mill was shut down and Animal Control sent all the dogs here. Now we've got three times as many animals as we can handle. Steve's been putting down the sick ones so we can feed the healthy ones." 

"You're going to put him down?" Sam asks, jostling him. Janet slumps. 

"We'll try to see if he has an owner, but honestly? We'll put him down tomorrow if we don't get word." God has apparently decided that nothing good will happen to Castiel this week. There is no way that he'll be healthy enough to escape by tomorrow. He can survive a lethal injection, but that would just throw him into the spotlight as well as weaken him further. He makes a snap decision and tilts his head back. Catching Sam's eyes, he wags his tail and tries to silently will the hunter not to leave him here. The messages gets across as Sam looks to Dean. 

"Oh hell no. We are not getting a dog."

"It won't be forever!" Sam insists. "Just until we find someplace that can take him!"

"We don't have anywhere to keep him Sam!" 

"He's fine in the car and it'll only be for a day or two."

"If you give me a number, I'll contact you if someone comes looking for him." Janet said, reaching for a camera. "I'll just need to get a picture of him." 

"Slow down lady, we're not taking him." Dean crosses his arms in defiance. 

"Dean please," Sam stares at his brother with well-honed puppy eyes. "They're going to kill him." 

Castiel twists to look at Dean, knowing his fate is in the elder Winchester's hands. There is silence in the room as the three of them stare at Dean. Finally Dean throws up his hands. 

"Fine! But you're taking care of the mutt." Sam lights up as Castiel slumps with relief. The photo is taken and all three of them are back in the car within minutes. This time, Sam is in the back with him while Dean slips back into the driver's seat. Castiel ends up with his head in Sam's lap and a seatbelt tied around his waist to keep him from sliding around as Dean books it through the streets. The hunter channels his anger with broken speed limits and blaring Led Zeppelin. Castiel can't be concerned about that. He needs to focus on his charade now that he'll be spending days with the Winchesters. Survival is the most important thing right now.


	4. Chapter 4

Any hope that Sam and Dean aren't the Winchesters vanishes by lunch. Dean has calmed down enough to reduce the volume on the radio and they brothers discuss their newest hunt. A man has died by swallowing razors hidden in store bought candy. It's not much of a case, but they have already decided to check it out. It's late by the time they roll into town and they agree that investigating can wait until the morning. Then Dean will head off to talk with the widow while Sam drops Castiel off at the vet. 

The motel they choose to stay in is nicer than the last one. 80s decor that's been recently cleaned and doesn't smell terrible. Casitel watches the Winchesters ward the room, set up their supplies, and bunk down for the night. He wonders if they, like him and his twin Jimmy, have always been able to smoothly move around each other or if it came with practice. Sam is kind enough to let him sleep in his bed before going to sleep himself. Castiel decides that there is no point in staying up and joins him. 

The morning changes their plans again. By this point, Castiel expects it. A second death has been reported in the newspaper. A girl drowned in boiling water while bobbing for apples. Castiel silently thinks it sounds like a witch using Halloween to disguise her magic and the brothers agree. His escape is delayed again as Sam takes the second crime scene while Dean heads off to the first. They leave Castiel on the bed as they head out, the door shutting with a thunk as the deadbolt slides into place. 

The skinwalker breathes a sigh of relief. Finally he is alone. Not having to play the helpless canine for a moment, Castiel stretches out and takes store of his wounds. About half his ribs are broken, the others fractured, his hind leg is a mess of torn muscles and leg bone fracture. Otherwise he's fine. With Sam's skill the injuries are healing up nicely. He'll need a week or so until he is fully healed. Sliding down to the floor, Castiel tests his injured leg. It promptly collapses causing him to yelp. Two weeks then. 

Hobbling around the room, Castiel does a cursory check of the Winchesters' belongings. It seems that they each have a bag of personal items. Clothes, books, etc. There's a shared bag containing holy water, salt, herbs, and candles, but no weapons. Castiel assumes those are in the car where an errant maid won't be able to stumble across them. Otherwise there is nothing. Sam and Dean's possessions are few and far between. He wonders if that is by choice or habit. 

His circuit complete, he debates on whether to get back up on the bed. The Winchesters will excepted him to be where they left him. Or maybe not. He has no idea how they think a dog should behave. They are a mystery to him and it is making conforming to their expectations difficult. He thinks he's succeeding but given how this week has been going that would be a dangerous thing to believe. Castiel tries to jump onto the bed. It fails and sendings him crashing down on his ribs. He spends a minute twitching on the floor before his body stops complaining about that foolish idea. Curling up into a ball, he waits for the Winchesters to come back underneath one of the beds. 

It's near lunch when they return. Sam goes straight for his computer and a journal while Dean chucks off his coat. The younger brother opens two hex bags confirming Castiel hunch about the witch. Dean picks up the newspaper, scanning the headlines before suddenly looking up and around. 

"Dude, where's the mutt?" Sam jerks up from his readings. Castiel shuffles forward so his head is sticking out and woofs. That catches their attention. Once spotting him, Dean goes back to the newspaper, but Sam comes over. 

"What'cha doing under there?" He asks softly crouching down. Castiel wags his tail. Sam smiles. "Dean, do we still have left overs from dinner?" 

"No, idea." Sam gets up and searches the refrigerator. Finding something to his liking, he pulls it out and returns to Castiel. Setting it down, he opens the styrofoam container to reveal a chicken salad. 

"Go ahead." He says where Castiel doesn't touch it. On that cue, he starts eating. Sam watches for a moment before returning to his work. 

Chewing the salad, Castiel observes the Winchesters hunting. It's not how his pack does it. They find a supernatural being, stalk it to determine if it's dangerous, and then kill it if so. During the times that bodies have started to drop before then, they use their abilities to track the murder. Books and journals are only ever touch when needing confirmation on how to kill monsters. Then again, the Winchesters don't have the luxury of knowing who is a monster based on scent alone. Jimmy and Amelia would prefer this way though. Talking with people, shifting through papers. They would take it over trudging through a graveyard in dog form in a heartbeat. 

"Samhain." Sam says suddenly. Dean and Castiel look up. 

"Who?" 

"The demon that the holiday Halloween sprung from. These deaths are sacrifices to him." Dean stands up and joins his brother.

"What kind of sacrifices? Summoning? Blood for power deal?" 

"Uh, summoning. Samhain needs three sacrifices over three days the last being on Halloween." Castiel mind flatline. That was today. 

"Okay, how bad a fugly are we talking about?" 

"Bad Dean. This guy can raise ghosts, zombies, other demons. We could be looking at every thing we've ever fought and more if this guy gets loose." Dean swore.

"Any good news?"

"Well, according to this Samhain can only be summoned once every six hundred years." 

"So gank this witch today and no 'see you again next year'?" 

"Looks like it."

"Alright." Dean threw his jacket back on. "I've got a lead on the witch. You track down Tracy, she might be victim number three, and I'll see who had access to the school's kiln recently." 

Sam nods and both brothers are out of the room in less than a minute. The roar of the Impala startles Castiel back to his senses. He can't believe this is happening. What had he done to deserve this? A great demon is about to be unleashed and not only is he powerless to stop it, he's too injured to get far enough away from the impending disaster. All he can do is hope that the Winchesters succeed. This is not comforting. He tries the door, but it's locked. The windows are too high to get out of without shifting into human form and that would just tear his body apart further. He was also more likely to get arrested for indecent exposure than escape this town if he did so. Crawling back underneath the bed, Castiel questions why God was punishing him like this. 

The tick of the clock is agonizing. Each minute crawls by. He can't decide if Samhain's rise is getting closer or not. Castiel's ears perk up as he deadbolt on the door slides back. Have the Winchesters killed the witch? The door swings opens and a man that is definitely not Sam or Dean comes in. He stinks of magic, blood, clay, and death. This must be the witch. Castiel's suspicions are confirmed when the man places a small bag behind the headboard. 

He waits until the witch has turned around and then launches himself out from under the bed. Biting into the man's leg, blood hits his tongue. The man goes down yowling in pain. Castiel ignores him as his skinwalker nature cries out for the witch's heart. His life blood. Letting go, he tries to bite again. A force slams into him. Castiel goes flying into a wall, breaking his partially healed bones. Sliding to the floor with a whimper, he sees the witch escape. It doesn't matter though. Castiel's bite is poisonous. One will kill a human after three days of excruciating pain. Two in a day. The only cure is to be bitten three times and become a skinwalker yourself. The venom won't destroy a supernatural being but does seriously injure them. The witch won't be in any condition to make sacrifices to Samhain anytime soon. Pulling himself back over to the bed, Castiel tears apart the third hex bag. With it's contents scattered it's useless. Smiling, he returns to beneath the bed. 

 

The Winchesters return late into the night. They are tense and dirty. There's blood on Dean's jacket and Sam smells like he was dumped into a pile of sulfur. Both are clearly unhappy. Had the man not been the only witch working to summon Samhain? Castiel question is answered after Dean shoves the door so hard that it bounces instead of closing all the way.

"What the fuck was that!?" He explodes. 

"Me saving your _life_." Sam fires back. 

"You didn't need to do that! I had it under control!" 

"Under-under control?! You were five seconds away from being sacrificed!" 

"One step closer and I would have been able to gank that bitch! If you had just waited-"

"You would have been dead! I saved your life!"

"You killed a chick with your mind Sam! Tossed her around life a rag doll until you couldn't recognize her!" Castiel's head jerked. Sam had powers? He would have sworn the boy was completely human. 

"She was going to unleash _hell on earth!_ I did what I had to do!" 

"You didn't need to use your freaky powers to kill her!" Sam's face went dark. Castiel was becoming more uncomfortable by the minute. This fight was far too personal for him to be listening to and it was getting worse. 

"Those freaky powers works! Better than anything else!"

"They make you go psycho!"

"I've got it under control!" 

"No, you don't!"

"Why can't you trust me on this!? For once in your frigging life!"

"You're turning into Jake! I saw how you enjoyed doing that! What's next Sam? Moving people around like they're your toy soldiers?"

"At least _I_ won't be frigging _useless!_ " Fists were going to start flying any moment now. Castiel inched out of the bed and towards the door. It was open a jar. If he could just get to it, then he could sneak out without either of them noticing. Neither of the Winchesters see him. They're too busy shouting or glaring at each other. Using his nose, Castiel opens the door wide enough to let him through. Of course the damn thing decides to squeak loudly. Sam and Dean draw their guns. He freezes as barrels stare down at him. The Winchesters blink. They clearly forgot that he was here. Holstering their weapons, Sam seems to decide that this conversation is over for now. He crouches down next to Castiel. 

"You okay?" Sam tries to be soothing, but he is far to tense to have the softness in his voice that he did earlier today. The younger Winchester reaches out and Castiel get's a good whiff of him. The skinwalker jerks back, hitting the wall. Sam doesn't have sulfur on him, he has it _in_ him. "It's alright buddy, it's just me."

"Guess we now know why Don was walking around with a limp." Dean kicks the remains of the third hex bag. 

"You get the bad guy buddy?" Sam is still trying to touch him and it isn't until Castiel realizes that he's trying to get to the bandages that have soaked through with blood from his fight that he allows the human to do so. Dean locks himself in the bathroom. Judging from the sound of running water, he's taking a shower. Sam changes the bandages, relaxing as he does so. Castiel does not and once it is does, ducks back under the bed. He catches a hurt look on Sam's face, but ignores it. He's more concerned with trying to figure out why Sam smells like a demon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I've changed the nature of the skinwalkers a little. For plot-ty reasons that will come in later, I assure you.


	5. Chapter 5

The brothers shower, change, and immediately head out. There are no words between them. Sam spared several to coax Castiel out from under the bed, but otherwise is silent. The tenseness lasted well onto the road. Dean shoved a cassette into the stereo and blasted music while Sam sat in the passenger seat in angry silence. Neither of them looked at each other. Sam stared at the window like it had offended him while Dean's eyes focus on the center line of the road hard enough that Castiel suspects he is trying to set it on fire. 

Both work in Castiel's favor. Nobody notices him watching Sam with a critical eye from the back seat. The scent of sulfur is fading fast, but that just worries him more. The boy isn't possessed. Castiel caught sight of an intact anti-possession tattoo on his heart when he changed clothes. Demons can't breed and even if they could it wouldn't explain why Sam's scent slides from human to demon and back. Castiel has also seen him handle salt, holy water, and Latin texts like they couldn't harm him. For one terrifying minute, Castiel considers the possibility that demons have found ways around these before dismissing it. If that were true it doesn't explain why Sam is being kind to him. No demon would do what the younger Winchester has done, but if Sam isn't demonic then what is he?

No answer comes to him. For the first time, Castiel regrets his pack secluding themselves from the supernatural community for the last ten years. What rumors they had heard were clearly out of date. A Winchester developing telekinesis would have been important news. Castiel eyes Dean, wondering if the elder has also shown such abilities. He doubts it if the man's reaction to Sam using his ability is anything to go by, but he can't be sure. The morning before he would have sworn that Sam was a hundred percent human. 

They drive all night. Sam drifts off to sleep for the first half of the trip and silently switches off with Dean around two in the morning. They by pass towns and cities; grabbing breakfast through a drive-thru and continuing on. There is no mention of dropping Castiel off. By the next dawn it is clear that Sam is using him as an excuse not to talk with Dean. Sam hovers. Changing bandages, checking his wounds, getting him food. Dean focuses on the car. Adjusting the radio, watching the road, checking it from top to bottom when they stop for the night. The second day is a repeat. Castiel makes no progress in figuring out what Sam is nor do the brothers attempt to bridge the silence between them. The third brings direction to their journey.

"We've got a case." Dean speaks to Sam for the first time, sliding back into the Impala's driver's seat after a pit stop. "Invisible thing's been hanging around a women's gym in Washington." 

"The state or the district?" Sam replies tensely.

"State. About two hour drive." Dean revs the engine and pulls out. 

"Where did you hear about it?"

"Bobby." Dean grunts. "He wants us to check it out." 

Sam frowns at that. Castiel wonders if he'll finally be able to escape when they get to Washington. He would like to solve the mystery of Sam's powers, but finding his pack is more important and his leg is almost capable of supporting his weight. The brothers talk about the few details Bobby was able to pass along. The air between them relaxes. By the time they reach the same town of Concrete, Sam and Dean are talking jovially with each. It's nice. Both for finally taking Sam's attention off Castiel and relieves the uncomfortable atmosphere in the car. 

"Aren't you going to drop him off at the vet?" Dean asks as Sam sets him down on the bed. 

"I'll do it after we figure out what we're dealing with." Sam says with a shrug. He's clearly not eager to do so; barely a minute later he's heading out to get food for the skinwalker. Dean watches the door close before sagging. Worry is etched onto his face. 

"Idiot." He mutters before realizing that Castiel is watching him. 

"What?" He snaps. Castiel ducks his head and pretends to sleep. Sam's back shortly with dog food, take-out, and beer. The dog food isn't the worst thing Castiel has ever eaten but it makes him crave the greasy Chinese take-out the brothers are inhaling. If part of that craving is a desire for a fresh heart, he ignores it. Even injured, it will be a while before Castiel needs to track down a pig or corpse to keep the craving from taking him over. At least a month. He'll wait until he's free of the Winchesters before daring to hunt. 

The afternoon has just started so the Winchesters head out to question those involved with the gym. They go with the story of being writers instead of FBI agents this time. Once they are gone, Castiel yawns and stretches. His ribs are still in bad shape but his hind leg isn't collapsing anymore. Walking around the room, he tests it. The muscles tremble after a few minutes but otherwise it works. 

_A few more days then_. He takes a break and then starts working on the door. It takes time to get the deadbolt undone, but eventually the door swings open. Happy, he circles around to the wooded area behind the motel and relieves himself in private. Once that is done and buried, goes to return to the room. 

A loud crack stops him. Castiel ears perk up at the noise. It happens again and again. Someone is trampling through the woods. Staying low, he goes in deeper to see who. It might be the monster the Winchesters are hunting. The creature comes into view soon enough. Castiel mind skids to a stop. A giant black teddy bear is walking through the woods with a case of beer and magazines.

_What._


	6. Chapter 6

Castiel watched the teddy bear fumble through the woods, swearing as it ran into various trees. Once it was out of sight, Castiel returned to the room. He locked the door and settled on the bed. The Winchesters could deal with whatever was going on in this town, he wasn't touching it. The skinwalker stayed in his spot as things became weird outside. The scent of jello came out of nowhere like someone had dumped a pool full of it outside the window. A 'yahoo!' was shouted in such a way that Castiel suspect a woman was leaping over houses. At one point, he glances out the window to see something resembling a poorly preformed musical taking place. 

The insanity grows until it's suddenly concluded with a clap of thunder. It silences the town. Wiping away the odd events like they had never happened. This unnerves Castiel more. Powerful workings like this, however silly, never ended well. Someone had to have paid a price for it. The Winchesters were not that someone as both brothers returned to the motel in one piece. Dean immediately collapsed on the bed.

"I hate trickster gods." He mumbled into a pillow. Sam gave a weary nod. The younger smelled as though someone had tried to barbecue him. 

"You okay?" Sam asks Castiel. He gives a small wag. The boy smiles a little before sinking down onto the bed next to him. "At least you didn't get wrapped up in the coin mess." He pats Castiel gently. Dean muffled reply graphically explains how unfair he thinks that is. 

"You going to take care of him now?" The elder asks, shifting to his side. "The pound should still be open." Sam's hand stills. 

"I guess you're right." 

"I always am." Dean grins causing Sam to roll his eyes. This time Castiel is placed in the front seat for the drive. He can see the aftermath of the trickster's work in town. People wander about in states of bleary-eyed confusion, medics are taking care of near lethal injuries, buildings have suffered damage that has them tilting precariously. The animal control building is one of them. Sam doesn't even bother to stop. Instead, he goes to the vet's office. One of the few buildings unscathed by the chaos. 

"Hello?" Sam called out. A young woman popped her head out from under her desk. 

"Is it over?" She asked hesitantly. 

"Yes."

"Oh thank God." She scrambled out from her cover. "I thought I was going mad. There were-there were-it was crazy!" The woman finally got out. Flailing her hands as if to explain what she saw. 

"I know, but it's over now. Could you take a look at my dog?" That jarred the woman into focus. 

"Dog, right. This way." She led them to a small inspection room and had Sam put him down on a metal table. "So, what happened?"

"Uh, he got hit by a car." The woman undid the wrappings. 

"Poor boy." She pokes and prods. Taking a razor to his fur, she gets rid of it to be able to see his wounds clearly. "What's his name?"

"I don't know." Sam said, shifting his feet. The woman looks up from her work. 

"You don't know?" 

"I found him on the side of the road. He didn't have a collar on him." 

"Where did you find him?"

"Uh....Oregon." Sam lied. Her eyes narrowed before returning to her work.

"Well, the good news is that he's not in any immediate danger. I'll have to do x-rays to be sure but I think we're dealing with a few fracture ribs and a bruised hind leg. The wounds from the car have scabbed over nicely and there don't appear to be any infections forming."

"How long until he's better?"

"Six weeks maybe eight. I'll have to run more tests to be sure." She left and returned with a papers. "I'll need you to fill these out."

Sam takes the sheets and the woman moves Castiel into another room to take the x-rays. They confirm what she said. Castiel calculates from them that he needs only one more week to be fully healed. She rewraps him and gives Sam the good news before taking the papers back. Sam brings Castiel back to the car and swings by the pound once again. There is a 'closed' sign on the door and a hysterical man is being placed in the back of an ambulance in front of it. Sam returns to the motel instead of stopping. He leaves Castiel in the car as he goes back to their room. The skinwalker sits up. The door has been left open and he can hear the brothers talking.

"Did you take care of the coin?" 

"Yep. Melted it down into a puddle." There's a rustling like someone is packing a bag. ".....hey Sam?"

"Yeah?" 

"If that thing had worked, without the bad mojo backlash, what would you have wished for?" 

"Jess to still be alive." The answer is quick and the silence that follows it long. 

"Why you packing?" Dean is obviously trying to change the subject. "Room's paid for until tomorrow morning. With the mutt gone, I say we hit the bar and scores some chicks." 

"About that, we should probably head out."

"Why?"

"Because I went to the vet instead of the pound and the lady there was suspicious and will probably call the cops when she realizes the phone numbers are duds." 

"Jesus Sam, what was wrong with the pound?" 

"It was closed okay? Besides I needed to see how bad his injuries were." It sounds like Dean is packing now as well. 

"Anything else I should know?"

"....the dog is in the car?" 

"Perfect. You realize it's going to take forever to get the stink out of baby right?"

"I'm sure the Impala can handle having a dog in the backseat for a little while longer." The two come out of the motel room with their bags slung over their shoulders. They dump them in the trunk and Sam slides into the passenger side while Dean checks them out. When Dean gets back he glares at Castiel through the rearview mirror. The skinwalker wags his tail at him, but all he does is scowl harder. Sam rolls his eyes as Castiel reminds himself that he needs only seven more days to heal.


	7. Chapter 7

The best thing about the vet visit was Sam now lets him walk around. It's a relief not to be carried around anymore. The downside is that the brothers have decided to take some time off from hunting leaving Sam to spend time hovering while Dean wrangles up cash in dive bars. His favorite method appears to be pool at least that's what he tells Sam. Several times he returns smelling of sex. Castiel doesn't think much about it though he wonders why Dean feels the need to lie. 

Neither of them suspect he's not human. Sam is too busy making sure he's alright to consider the truth. Dean dislikes him and spends a lot of time cleaning the inside of the car. He complains about the amount of hair, smell, drool, etc. but nothing that hints at a supernatural origin. Castiel tries to get along with him, but finds it difficult. He's cocky, crass, and constantly eyeing the skinwalker like he is going to piss on his bed. Five days after the vet, Castiel gives up and, honestly, if Dean didn't think he was going to eat that burger left on the table he didn't know animals very well.

"Son of a bitch!" Dean lunged for him. Sam laughs as Dean misses and Castiel scarfs down the burger from the safety of under the motel bed. "Shut up."

"Make me." He takes him up on that offer resulting in a scuffle as Dean goes for Sam's salad. The two end up on the floor, rolling around until Dean manages to pin his brother and snag the salad. 

"Ha!" He grins and takes a bite out of the salad. "God, this stuff is nasty." 

"Then give it back." Sam gets out between laughs. He reaches for the salad and the wrestling starts again. In the end, both brothers are laughing and the salad is scattered on the floor. Castiel can't help but smile at them. 

"You are such a jerk." The words were without heat as Sam pulled lettuce out of his hair. 

"Aw, your rabbit food get into your hair?" Sam chucks it at Dean who sputters, but doesn't retaliate. He flops down on the bed. The frames creaks at the sudden weight. Castiel eyes it, hoping that it doesn't cave. His hiding place is a tight spot as it is. "When are you going to get rid of the stupid mutt anyway?"

"When reach civilization. I'm not dropping him off in some godforsaken trucking dump."

"Come on! That pound wasn't that bad." 

"There was a dude pissing behind the dog shed. It was exactly that bad." Their bickering pulls Castiel into his own thoughts. He's almost fully healed. Another day or two and he'll be able to return searching for his pack. The problem is he doesn't know where to begin. They had planned to stay in Pontiac for at least two decades. Paid for forged paper work and everything. There were friends that they could have sought shelter from, but if they had he should have heard from them before he reached home. The only answer for the silence was they had to disappear to where no one could find them. They must have trusted that Castiel would be able to track them by scent. He grimaced. That was no longer a possibility. Even if he wasn't halfway across the nation, the scent would have faded by now. He'll have to guess at where they went. 

The answer doesn't come to him today or even tomorrow. There's too many variables, too many things he does not know. He decides to wing it. He'll slip out tonight while the Winchesters are sleeping and search the whole entire country. He'll avoid his pack's allies for now. They could be enemies for all he knows. He'll start in Portland. It's only a few hours away and as one of the big west coast cities it would be ideal for hiding a group of skinwalkers. 

"Dean!" Sam slams open the door, Castiel startles out of his thoughts. "Where are you?!"

"I'm taking a friggin shower!" Dean shoves his head out of the bathroom. "What?" 

"Get dressed. I've got bad news." Dean swore and shut the door. He comes out a minute sopping wet with a towel around his waist. Sam has flipped open his computer and is digging through the internet as fast as his web connection will allow. 

"So, what's the problem?" Dean asks as he shoves his pants on. 

"Remember that town in Oregon two years back? The one with the demon virus?"

"Yeah. We got stuck reenacting Omega Man." 

"Newspaper, fifth page." Dean grabs the paper in question. 

"Two year anniversary of the mysterious disappearance of town population...No survivors?! What the fuck happen to that doctor and the marine?"

"Dead. Amanda was found in the burned down clinic and Sarge in his truck not a mile out from the town. Both had their throats slit." 

"Son of a bitch. So we didn't save anyone!?" Dean crumples the newspaper in anger, Sam doesn't look much better. 

"They didn't find Dwayne's body. He might be alive." Sam doesn't sound hopeful. _Demon virus?_

"I bet it was Meg. This is just that bitch's style." Dean chucks the newspaper in the waste bin. "We'll head out and investigate it tomorrow. I'm hitting the bar."

Dean throws his clothes on and stomps out of the room. Sam eyes his laptop and then shuts it and follows his brother. Castiel waits until he can't hear the roar of the engine before getting up. He feels a sick feeling in his gut at the term 'demon virus.' Why would demons need a plague? They were practically unstoppable to begin with. Even if you did manage to exorcise them, they would just come back. He could see some of them finding amusement unleashing disease onto a town but that's not something they would cover up. He roots through Dean's pack. He had seen the Winchesters consult a journal during their previous hunts. Most likely it would have details about this incident. 

He finds it. It's difficult to turn the pages with his paws, but comes to the entry dated for the month of November two years ago. What he learns makes him want to hurl. People partly being turned into demons via ingesting blood. Fast and effective enough to completely take over a town in hours. No way to tell who has been infected until it's too late. The turned are smart, organized, and desire only to turn more. He imagines this being unleashed on cities. On his pack being surrounded by part-demons. Fear strikes through him. What if skinwalkers aren't immune to this virus? What if the supernatural population could be taken over just as quickly? He re-reads the entry. No new information comes to light. Whoever wrote this didn't speculate on why the demons created a virus or what they were planning on using it for. 

Shoving the journal back into it's place, Castiel paces the room. His escape plans will have to wait. Finding out more details about this takes priority. His pack, his friends, the whole supernatural community could be wiped off the map with this. The virus could make things Hell on earth. Castiel can't leave until he knows everything he can about it. The Winchesters are clearly knee deep in this. He'll stick by their side until the full extent of the demons' plan can be determined.


	8. Chapter 8

True to their word, the Winchesters leave the next morning. Dawn has barely arrived before they are pulling out and heading north. Castiel listens intently as Sam runs down what he was able to gather from hacking into the police database. 

"The initial report listed thirteen dead, including Sarge and Dr. Amanda, with some two hundred missing. The dead were mostly killed via blunt force trauma or gunshot wounds. Amanda and Sarge were the exceptions. Besides the clinic, nothing else in the town was touched. County threw the case at the FBI when they couldn't find anyone. Apparently it's still an active case, but from what I found they've got nothing the county didn't."

"How active are we talking?"

"A couple of agents were out last week to see if anyone had been back to the town." Dean rubs his forehead. 

"So, suits are out." 

"We could be journalists."

"With the FBI hanging around? No way man. We stay off the radar for this one." Sam doesn't like that, but doesn't disagree. "What did the county find?"

"I'm not sure. Its records aren't online. The FBI file references it more than it actually has information in it." Dean mulls that over.

"Okay, we'll break into the county office and get those records then hightail it over to the town and do some of our own snooping."

"We should get there after it closes. The office seems to be in a different building then the sheriff's office with any luck there won't be a night guard." Dean checks the time. 

"Then will go straight there. If we don't stop we can get there by 1am." Castiel listens to them intently. They'll most likely leave him in the car while they break into the building. He doesn't need to be there, but he needs to access those files. Proper medical reports and investigations will have to take the place of bodies and a fresh crime scene. Hopefully the Winchesters will bring the report back with them. The brothers have already agreed to go to the town after they hit the county office. 

The ride is tense. Both siblings are too wound chat and talking about investigation has them all running around in circles. Castiel does learn that they have had several run-ins with a demon named Meg. She apparently possessed Sam at one point if Dean’s ‘wore you like a prom dress’ comment is anything to go by. She is their pick for the Croatoan cover up. Castiel finds their reasoning shaky, but that is because there is so little to go on. It boils down to they’ve dealt with her before and her preferred method of killing is a slice across the throat. It’s frustrating to be unable to question them. Castiel wants to know why Meg keeps coming after them, what exactly happened in the town with the Croatoan virus, and what’s wrong with Sam. Instead, he has to sit in the back seat and pretend to be staring out the window.

He’s ready to jump out of his skin by the time they get to the county office. Predictably, the Winchesters lock him in the car as they break in. Castiel watches Sam boost Dean through a window. He follows after when Dean pulls him inside and they both are gone from sight. Annoyed, he paces back and forth. If they weren’t hunters, Castiel would get out of the car and go after them. The window is still open. It would be a difficult jump with his hind legs but he could make it. He can’t afford to pull a Houdini act right now though. It would be too suspicious. 

They are back soon enough. Sam has a folder clutch tightly in his hands. Dean takes the wheel as his brother pulls out a flashlight. Sam reads the report out loud. The details of the clinic’s destruction are helpful. Apparently all of a Dr. Amanda’s research was destroyed. Some of that, as Sam reminds Dean, includes details about the virus. 

“She discovered sulfur in the blood remember?”

“Dude, it was last year. All I remember is the almost zombie apocalypse and your dumb ass trying to get me to leave you behind.” 

“Well, she did. I think Meg was worried that would get out. There’s no sign of anything in the dead they recovered so whatever the virus left their system before the cops showed up just like it did with me.” 

Castiel’s head jerks. Sam was infected? Was that how he got his powers? That didn’t make sense. They talk about the Croatoan virus like it was completely separate from Sam’s powers. 

“So Meg torched the place to cover up what the doc found.” Dean runs a hand over his face. 

“It must have been important if she bothered to cover it up. Maybe she was worried the CDC would be able to make a cure.”

“More likely she didn’t want the feds finding out about demonic zombies. Anything else?” 

“Um, not really. All the deaths look like they are from people trying to fight off the infected and property damage tells pretty much the same story. Nobody has found those that disappeared either. Meg covered her tracks well.” Dean taps on the steering wheel. 

“Nobody is living there right?” 

“Yeah, guess people don’t want to live in a place where people vanish off the map.” 

“Okay, then I say we get some shut eye and then go take a look. Maybe we’ll find something they didn’t.” 

“Dean, it’s been two years. Anything that was there is going to be long gone.”

“It can’t hurt to look.” Dean snaps out. Sam doesn’t say anything to that. 

The Winchesters camp in their car rather than find a motel. Dean takes the front while Sam is squashed in the back. Castiel has to curl in the footrest to have some space. Dawn wakes all three of them. Not that it was hard. Castiel drifts in and out of sleep and judging from their twitchiness, the brothers don’t fair much better. 

They swing by a drive-thru to pick up breakfast and coffee. The skinwalker gets a spare breakfast sandwich throw back to him as they travel through back roads. 

They arrive by noon. For the first time, Castiel is allowed to wander outside of the car. Sam lets him out to relieve himself and doesn’t seem to mind when he tags along. He wandered around as they investigated houses, checked out sheds, and scoured the area for any signs of supernatural activity. There was nothing. Even he couldn’t find anything amiss. No scents of demons or bodies lurking beneath the ground. If it weren’t for the eerie silence that engulfed the place, Castiel would have assumed that everyone was at church. 

“Do you got anything?” Sam called out, coming out of a house. Dean adjusted his Walkman that could detect spirit energy. 

“No, but we should keep looking.” 

“Dean, we’ve been over this town twice. We’re not going to find anything.” 

“Well, then what are we suppose to do Sam? Just walk away?” 

“I don’t know! But clearly the answers aren’t here!” 

“Maybe we haven’t been looking hard enough!” 

“Damnit Dean, just listen to me!” Castiel watches as the anger from the last few days bubbles to the surface. Dean growls, but shoves his Walkman away and trudges towards the car. 

“Fine, let’s blow this joint.” Sam goes after him, not looking like he won the argument. Castiel brings up the rear with mix feelings. Solving this mystery is not going to be an easy task.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Previous chapters have received a little editing (grammar and such.) Merry Christmas.


	9. Chapter 9

The days past in a haze of frustration and short tempers. Everything the Winchesters look into is a dead end. They track down each family member, friend, and loved one of those missing. They know nothing. Neither are they connected to the supernatural. Feelers are put out to the hunting community, but the Winchesters seem to be on the outs with most of them. What news they do get isn't good. There's some theories about the original Croatoan incident, but nothing to back them up. The previous one was swept under the rug as neatly as this one. The only reason anyone has any knowledge of it at all was the empty towns. Castle expects that there have been more that the world is unaware of. 

The end result is more fights between the brothers and Castiel itching to tear something apart. He wants the demons that have been inflicting this plague on the world dead _before_ the finish whatever it is that they have started. He hates being trapped in a car unable to even ask questions. At least there has been no talk of getting rid of him. Dean still complains about his presence, but the siblings have been so wrapped up in their case that the issue has been dropped. The flip side of securing his place at their side is that they might just drive him to insanity. Sam swings between doting on him and forgetting he exists while Dean is either barking orders or making digs at everyone. Castiel is sorely tempted to just take off, but he knows that if he leaves he will lose any trail of the demonic virus. 

The only bright spot is when three weeks in, Sam takes the bandages off. A vet visit is scheduled but that gets put off when they leave to chase down another dead end. Castiel has been in good health for a while and it's nice to be treated as such. No more being lugged around or prodded. A break from the case comes in the form of a hunt. Castiel is equally annoyed and relieved to have something new to do. 

"Bobby called." Dean says as Sam looks through another website in hopes of finding a new lead. "He's got a possible case that he wants us to check out." 

"We're already on a hunt." 

"I know, but he made me promise we'd check it out. A man died in a locked room in the middle of Nebraska. No sign anyone entering or leaving but something cut out his throat." Sam sighs. 

"I guess we could use a break." Dean grunts in agreement. They pack up and hit the road. The trip was boring. Dean plays the same music, Sam grumbles about it, and the mid-west landscape as uninteresting as it was the first time. The house they arrive at is even more uninteresting. It's an old, beat up farmhouse at the end of a long drive way. There's nothing around for miles. Civilization is far away and he doesn't believe he's seen even a gas station for the last hour. Dean doesn't even need to pick the lock. Whoever took control of the estate after the man's death didn't bother to lock the front door. The comb the house paying particular attention to the room where the murder took place. Nothing supernatural comes up. There's a small boy and girl lurking just outside of the Winchester's sight, but Castiel can tell that they are human. Wisely avoiding the large men that have invaded their home. 

The sound of a car exhaust catch his attention. He pads towards the window. Tilting his head, his ears confirm that a car is coming up the drive way.

"Woof." Sam peaks his head around a door way. 

"Something the matter boy?" 

"Woof." The man comes over. He stares out the window, trying to see what's bothering Castiel. 

"Oh shit. Dean!" The elder came into the room. 

"What?"

"There's people coming! I can hear their car!" Dean swore. 

"Get the dog outside and start chasing it."

"What?" 

"Just do it!" Sam grabbed Castiel by the scruff of the neck and dragged him outside. Once on the grass, Castiel took off and Sam gave chase. Dean soon joined them, shouting at him to get back. He ignored him and let them run circles around the house as the car with a trailer attached came into view. It stopped far short of them and a family poured out. They had a dog of their own. Castiel ran over to it as an excuse to stop the chase. One of the men grabbed him when he stopped. 

"Thanks sir!" Sam said, running up. "I let him out by accident."

"What are you doing here?" The man not holding asks. 

"My idiot brother here thought this was a short cut." Dean reaches Sam's side, elbowing him slightly. "We're on a road trip and we were hoping you could give us directions back to civilization." 

"We can do that. Where are you trying to get to?" Dean names some city that's nowhere near here. 

"I'm not sure where that is. Do you have a map?" Dean shakes his head and lied. 

"Nope, otherwise we'd be where we're suppose to." Sam rolls his eyes and plays along. 

"You're the one that lost the map." 

"Well, if you hadn't decided that we need to leave at the asscrack of dawn I wouldn't have left it in the motel room." 

"Brian, can you get the map from the car." The mother said. 

"Sure." The man returns in a moment and unfolds a map. "Here's the city. As you can see it's pretty far, but if you follow these roads and get on the highway you should make it there late tonight." 

"We don't have much gas left. I don't think we can make that." Dean said. 

"How much is left in the tank?"

"A quarter." Sam adds, frowning at the map. "I don't think that could even get to the highway. Our car doesn't get good mileage." Dean scowled at him for the insult to the Impala. 

"How bad is it?" The man that caught Castiel asks. 

"Pretty bad. I don't know how I let Dean convince me to use it for this trip."

"Hey! The Impala's a classy lady! Much better than whatever mini-van crap you wanted to drive." 

"If you have a gas can we can drive you to the nearest gas station." The mother offered. 

"Thanks man, we really appreciate that." Dean said with a smile. It's quickly determined that Dean will head back with Brian while Sam helps the Carters move into their new home as a thank you. 

"What's his name?" The girl asks Sam as he goes to their trailer for another box. She's pointing at Castiel who has stayed by Sam's side the whole time. 

"Uhhh, Lucky." Castiel stares up at him. _Really? REALLY?_

"He's pretty." Castiel allows himself to be petted, but quickly moves away. It's easier to deal with the dog's attempts to get him to play than someone running their hands through his fur. He can at least snap at the dog. Sam manages to get her talking about her dog and eventually why the family has moved into this house. The eldest son had died in a car crash and the Carters, at least the parents, were hoping a new place would allow them to leave the grief of his death behind. Castiel found that that rarely worked, but it was not the worst way of handling it. His thoughts drift back to his pack. He wondered what they are doing, if they are okay, or even together. 

Dean returns with the unnecessary gas much later. The sun has gone down and the family started serving dinner. Sam was offered a place at the table and Castiel got to share kibble with the Carter's dog. Dean and Brian joined them and complain about how it took two hours to find a gas station. 

"Thank you all so much." Sam says once they've finished dinner. "But we need to get going." 

"Isn't it too late to drive?" The daughter asks. "You've got hours to go before you get to your destination and it's already eight." 

"Yeah, it is." Dean says. Sam shoots him a look and he responds with one that says to follow his lead. The Carter adults share a look between them. Castle can see them trying to decided whether or not to invite the Winchesters to stay the night. It's one thing to give a stranger a lift for gas, quite another to offer two of them a place to sleep when you've just moved in. Dean can see it too as he quickly adds. "Do you mind if we sleep in your drive way? The car can fit both of us and we'll be out of your hair bright and early." 

"Of course." The father says after looking at his wife and brother-in-law. That wins a smile from Dean and help cleaning up. Sam manages to corner him on a trip to the bathroom. 

"Dean, there's nothing supernatural going on here. I check the whole house already. Why aren't we leaving?" He hisses. 

"Relax Sammy. We're just making sure. If nothing weird happens by morning we'll skedaddle and tell Bobby this was a bust." 

"Don't call me Sammy." Dean seems to have won the argument as Sam doesn't say another word against this plan. Castiel finds a soft spot on the floor and curls up. The Impala is comfier, but he doesn't want to fight with Sam for space again. The Winchesters forget he is not with them until they reach the car. Castiel can hear this realization through a window. 

"Shit, we left the mutt inside." 

"His name's Lucky." 

"Lucky? Lucky? Christ Sam, I'm never letting you name anything again. Why couldn't you have picked something cool like Zeppelin?" 

"Screw you Dean." Sam opens the car door. "Lucky will be fine. He's got good instincts and it will give us a reason to check in with the Carters tomorrow."

"Whatever bitch."

"Jerk." There's the slamming of car doors that end the conversation. The family goes to bed soon after that. The mother tucking her children into their new beds and heading off herself. Darkness envelopes the house as each light is flicked off. Castiel is drifting off when a creak alerts him to someone coming out from behind a wall. A girl walks out and heads towards the bedrooms.


	10. Chapter 10

Castiel follows the girl, silently watching her as she plays with the son. She's dirty. A layer of filth covers an ill fitted dress. There's something wild about her though she's playing gently with the son. He doesn't consider her dangerous until she speaks. 

"You can stay."

"What?" the son asks. 

"You can stay. They have to go." Castiel's hackle's rise. A scream echoes through the house. He jerks back and hears feet running to the source. By the time he looks back the girl has grabbed the son and is dragging him away by the throat. Castiel tackles her. She releases the boy as she goes down. She snarls at him and Castiel responds in kind watching as she draws a knife from her dress. He's between her and the boy, but there's a door behind her and Castiel doesn't want to attack her. He's lethal. Completely capable of ripping apart many supernatural beasts. Not killing his opponent is difficult for him especially in dog form when he cannot grapple. He doesn't know what's wrong with the girl, but there is a sobbing boy behind him and he's no longer sure what she will do. 

The wild girl retreats as the Winchesters succeed in breaking through the door. The father and uncle appear with Dean turning a corner shortly after. The Caters flinch when they see his drawn gun.

"Are you okay?" Dean ask as he points his gun to the ground. 

"I don't know." The father says as he holds his son. "Danny, what happened?"

"There was a girl. We were playing and then she suddenly grabbed me!" 

"What did she look like?" Sam asks as he too arrives. 

"Dirty? She had kind of long hair." There's a crash from above followed by another scream. It's coming from the mother. Sam and the uncle take off for the nearest staircase. Castiel hears two people run down the second staircase that leads to the kitchen and go out the backdoor. It's open when he checks it out and sees the daughter being chased down by the boy. He pins her on the ground as she tries to get to the car. 

"Mom! Dad! Hel-" Her words are cut off by the boy wrapping his hands around her throat. Castiel tears out of the house. He bites into the boy's leg and hauls him off her. He kicks, flairs, and screams. His blood tells Castiel that he is young and hardy. It's pure human running through his veins. The skinwalker releases and then bites again. The boy howls and starts punching. They don't bother him. 

"Move you stupid mutt!" Dean yells. Castiel retreats and three shots ring out. They go clean through the child. One goes through the heart; the others puncture his lungs. Castiel can hear the beats slow to nothing. Dean comes up to wild child and puts one directly into his brain and the boy is gone. The hunter turns to the daughter. "Are you alright?" 

"What's going on? Wh-why did he do that?!"

"I don't know." Shots are heard in the house. Everyone stares in it's directions. Dean turns back to the girl. "Kate, I need you to get in the car and lock the doors. Can you do that?" 

"Ye-yeah." She scrambles to her feet. Dean waits until he hears the click of the locks before running back into the house. Castiel stays behind. He won't be of much use in close quarters with guns everywhere. 

Silence drags on as he waits. Kate is muttering to herself. The door bangs open as the rest of the family comes out. The father is carrying the son, the uncle the mother and Sam and Dean are bringing up the rear. The uncle puts the mother in the back seat as the Carters tumble into the car. She looks bruised, but not seriously injured. 

"You coming?" The father asks as he puts the keys in the ignition. 

"We'll be right behind you." Dean promises. The Winchesters move towards the Impala as the car tears out of the drive away. As soon as it out of sight, Sam turns to Dean. 

"She was human." 

"So was the boy." Dean waves at the body in the yard. 

"I thought this guy lived alone." Sam opens up the trunk and fishes out the spare ammo. 

"That's what Bobby said. No heirs, no will, not even a 'won't get one dime from me' note."

"Haunted house maybe? Drives the people in it insane?"

"I have no idea." Dean reloads his gun. "But we are going to find out."

The Winchesters move through the house. This time, it's with guns drawn and an eye for a human reason. Castiel points them towards the hidden compartments in the walls by scratching at them. Inside they discover what can only be described as a nest of filth, dust, and rat bones. It is clear that this is where the children were living for a long time. There's too much build up for any other explanation. This still doesn't answer the question of why there were there. Returning to the house proper yields the truth. The Winchesters never got to investigate the upper level and there they find a diary from the dead man's daughter. Sam reads out her account of being raped and impregnated by her father and the rest falls into place. There's nothing supernatural about a father hiding the evidence of his horrible crimes. 

"I don't understand humans." Dean said as they got back to the car. "I mean, demons, yeah I can see a demon doing that but a human? How fucked in the head do you have to be to do that to your own kids?" 

"Some people are just evil. Bill Gibson was one of them." Sam opens the side door for Castiel. He squints at the skinwalker. "Did Lucky bite someone?"

"Why?" 

"There's blood on his teeth."

"Uh, yeah. He bit the boy when he went after Kate." Castiel hops in and Sam shuts the door. 

"Hmm." The humans slide in and start the car. 

"What?"

"Do you think he could have been someone's pet? He seems trained and Danny told me that he got him away from Rebecca's daughter too." Dean looks up through the review mirror. Castiel ignores him. 

"Don't know. Could just be a natural guard dog." 

"Could be." Sam twists around. "He does look like a cross between a Labrador and a Mastiff." Dean snorts. 

"Yeah, if someone splashed black paint on his face and forgot to brush him for a year." Sam wrinkles his nose. 

"We all could use some clean up." Dean muttered agreement and sped off towards a hot shower and a comfortable bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cas' dog form is an Estrela Mountain Dog in case you were wondering.


	11. Chapter 11

The new motel was not a pleasant experience. Sam had insisted on giving him a bath once the Winchesters were done using it. Castiel attempted to squirm out of the younger's grasp to no avail. The whole embarrassing incident amused Dean as he was laughing so hard he was bent over and clutching the door frame. 

"If you're not going to help, shut up!" 

"Nice drown rat look! Very classy!" Dean got out between laughs. The one thing that Castiel had succeeded in doing was completely soaking the younger brother. Sam turned and gave his brother the middle finger. Castiel used the opening to leap over the edge of the tub and escape to the bedroom area. Once safely out of arms reach he glared at the both of them. Dean just laughed harder. Castiel took cold pleasure in jumping on Sam's bed and shaking the water out of his fur. 

"Hey!" Sam scrambled from the floor. He snatched up a towel, pushed past his brother, and got to Castiel just as he sat down. Ensuring Sam would have a large damp spot in his bed when he went to sleep. 

"Guess somebody doesn't like taking a bath." Dean snickered. 

"It wasn't that bad." Sam grumbled as he attempted to pat a scowling Castiel dry. The younger Winchester was standing a little ways from the bed as though he thought the skinwalker was going to bite him. Which, to be fair, Castiel had considered in the last five minutes. He did not need his private parts cleaned thank you very much!

"Says the walking mop." 

"If I suck so much then you wash him next time." 

"No way. He's your mutt. You get to wash him." Dean checks his wallet. "I'm going to hit the bar. Don't wait up." Sam frowns. 

"We need to get back to the Croatoan case Dean." 

"On what? We've chased down every lead we've got and zilch to show for it. I say we put it on the back burner." 

"We can't just wait for this to bite us in the ass." 

"We're going to wait until we've got something to go on instead of just chasing our tails." 

"You mean until Meg pops back up again and kills one of us." 

"Bobby and Ellen both have their ears to the ground. If the demons pull anything like Oregon we'll know about." 

"So, more people are going to die." Dean scowls. 

"Do you got anything to go on? A lead we haven't already tracked down? Someone we haven't talked to? No. Because there isn't any! Now unless you've got a case for us, I'm getting drunk and getting laid." He stomped out of the room and tore out of the driveway in the Impala. Sam scrunched up the towel. 

"I'll find you a case, jerk." Sam tossed the towel into a basket and opened his computer. The keys clack rapidly as he channels his ire into his search engine. Castiel ignores him as he stretches out on the bed; his still damp fur making everything wet. It's not like he has a say in what they do either way. He wants to get back to tracking down the Croatoan source, but begrudgingly agrees with Dean. He can only hope that Sam finds a clue. A soft 'ha' eventually comes out of the younger Winchester. He looks up, but Sam looks smug rather than excited about a lead on the demon virus. 

It takes a while for Sam to reveal the reason for his change in mood. Dean comes back drunk and immediately crawls into bed. Sam has already kicked Castiel to the floor and is sleeping. The younger Winchester is up early; brewing coffee and dressed before Dean even thinks about waking. He walks over to the bed with a cup of coffee in one hand and a bowl of water that he put in the fridge last night in another. Standing arms length away, he pitches the water towards Dean hitting him square in the face. Castiel has to admit, the way Dean flails and falls off the bed is entertaining. 

"What the _hell_ Sam!?" 

"We've got a case." 

"This better be good." Dean rolls over and pushes himself off the floor. 

"A man died of over a dozen stab wounds in the middle of a street in Sioux City." 

"That's not a case for us." Dean groans out as he searches the fridge for something to eat. Sam sips his coffee. 

"It is when none of the stab wounds damage his clothes and there's no witness to an attack taking place." Dean makes a disgruntle noise of concession. "See you in the car. Come on Lucky." Castiel reluctantly follows; staying for enough behind that Sam doesn't pet him like he is prone to doing. He's tired, disgruntled, and more importantly _hungry_. He hasn't eaten a heart in almost two months and it's getting to the point where the Winchesters are looking tempting. He needs to eat soon before he becomes too weak. The desire to hold up this act with each passing day. He wants to speak and be around people who consider him more than just a distraction. He wants to sleep without one eye open and question the Winchesters about Croatoan and the sulfur hidden under Sam's skin. He wants to know his pack is alright, but all he can do is watch the scenery go by as they move to some new Mid-West city. 

The pet friendly motel that they find is on the outskirts of the city. An eyebrow is raised at Castiel's lack of a collar but it is ignored. The Winchesters have more important things to worry about than appearing to have a random dog follow them around. They leave him behind to talk to people. Sam built a solid case with the coroner's report but it is still up in the air of what caused the damage. Castiel uses the free time to give himself a proper wash. It's fast, but effective. He makes sure to use as little hot water as possible and hide the towel that he used. No reason to tip off the Winchesters that someone else is around. Surprisingly, Sam is alone when he comes back. Castiel counts his blessings and steals Sam's fake credit cards while he is in the bathroom. Dean comes back soon after having chased down a dead end. They speculate about the case; another witch gone bad. He doesn't really care. Sam and Dean are good enough to figure out what is going on and stop it. He focused on willing the gnawing hunger to go away. 

A new morning, another body. The Winchesters are confident that they've found their killer and head out. Castiel waits until he can no longer hear their footsteps and shifts into human form. Wasting no time, he puts on one of Dean's spare shirts and jeans. They hang on him, but it's better than Sam's. Unfortunately, he does have to use Sam's boots. They flop when he walks no matter how tight he ties the laces. Shutting the door behind him, he has to restrain himself running to the butcher's shop he spotted on the way into town. His ears are ringing with the sound of everyone's heart beat. There must be some kind of festival going on. People are milling on the street; staring at magicians performing card tricks and slight of hands. It makes him want to growl and salivate at the same time. 

_Cover be damned,_ Castiel thinks. _I am not going this long without hearts again._

The butcher's shop is mercifully empty. No one is interested in meat they have to cook themselves while street vendors are parading around. 

"Do you sell hearts?" Castiel immediately ask when he catches the butcher's attention. 

"Sure, I've got lamb, deer, pig-"

"Pig will do." The man pauses and looks him over. 

"Alright. How many do you want?"

"Three." That should be enough to get him to last him several weeks. Ignoring the suspicion of the butcher, Castiel handed over the credit card. As soon as the bag of meat was in his hands he left the store. Scrambling back to the motel, he barely managed to lock the door before ripping off the packaging and devouring the hearts. He could feel himself relaxing with every bite. The fog of hunger receded. The room became clearer; the smell of blood gave way to other scents. Licking his hands clean of the second heart, he could feel strength returning to his body. He was now confident that he could once again rip steel apart and move faster than a human eye could follow. The pig hearts did not make the hunger go away entirely, but, like having a feast of bread, it did the trick for the time being. 

The third heart settled nicely in his stomach. Castiel tossed the bag outside of the back window and cleaned up. The clothes were put back where he found him and he meticulously cleaned the blood off. Turning back into a dog, he curled up on the couch. He fell asleep and woke hours later. The Winchesters were not back. Castiel doesn't think much of it until more hours pass and midnight is quickly approaching. He would suspect that they left town, but the car is still out front. He reassures himself that the Winchesters are good hunters and ignores the desire that they had taken him with them. 

When they do get they are...quiet. It's not the rush of leaving town fast quiet or the exhausted silence that accompanies a near death miss. There is something defeated about them. Castiel eyes them critically as Dean goes straight for the fridge and pulls out some whiskey. Sam wanders over and crouches in front of him. 

"Hey boy, I got a present for you." His words are low and he's trying to smile. Castiel lifts up his head. Sam fishes a collar out from his jacket pocket and buckles it around his neck. It's comfortable and Castiel catches a glimpse of something off the dog tag in the mirror attached to the bathroom door. He slides off the bed and stands in front of it. The collar is solid brown leather with a buckle to adjust the size. Nice, but not what has caught Castiel's attention. The dog tag is made out of iron; good iron his nose tells him. There's Sam's name below 'Lucky' and a phone number on one side. On the other, a symbol for protection etched into it. It is a custom job. It would have been expensive. Too much for the amount of cash that the Winchesters keep on hand. With Castiel taking Sam's credit card, he would have had to ask Dean for his. If there is one thing that Castiel has learned about Sam is that he detests depending on his brother for money especially when it comes to Lucky where Dean always digs his heels in. The shapeshifter feels something caught in his throat. Honestly, he had not thought Sam cared. The Winchester is a good man, but he had assumed that Lucky would be going to a pound as soon as he was not needed as a distraction. Sam....Sam would not put this much effort into Lucky if he was not worried about his safety. If he did not care about him. Castiel wishes he could say thank you. He settles for going back to the younger Winchester and butting his head lightly against his leg. 

"So, you like it then." Sam's hand comes does and scratches his ears. Castiel still prefers not to be touched, but he will put up with it as his thank you. Sam smiles a little before taking the offered whiskey from Dean. The two humans drink and bury whatever has soured this hunt. Castiel doubts he will ever learn what it was, but such is the price of his cover. As he retakes his seat on the couch he finds himself thinking of how he can worm his way into the next one.


	12. Chapter 12

Castiel's chance to join a hunt comes in the form of a phone call. It has been weeks since Sioux City and the magic festival. Sam has added a run with Lucky to his morning routine. It's relaxing, but ultimately useless. The brothers still left him behind for hunts, there was no progress on the Croatoan case, and still no sign of his pack. The most help he had been was warning Sam when a ghost appeared behind him and he was able to do that only because the Winchester had forgotten to shut the car door in his hurry to burn a body. As the Impala cruises over the highway, Castiel once again debates the risks of revealing himself for the chance to actually _do_ something. Dean's phone rings and he fishes it out of his pocket. 

"Hello."

"Hey Dean, how you doing?" A female's voice responds. It is not one Castiel's heard before. The Winchesters have spoken to a few of them in the last months, but this is neither Ellen, Pamela, or Missouri. 

"Same old, same old. Ganking uglies and saving damsels." The older brother turns to Sam and mouths 'Jo' when the younger raises a questioning eyebrow. "What about you?"

"Killing baddies and trying to survive my mom." Jo grumbles. 

"Ellen's hunting with you?"

"We just finished putting down a selkie nest. Is it true you have a dog now?" 

"Yeah, Sam got attached and now we're stuck with the mutt." Sam shot Dean a look. 

"Aw, the Winchesters adopted a puppy."

"Shut up." 

"Is he cute? Did he win you over with his big eyes?" 

"What do you want Jo?" 

"Are you near New England? There's been a rash of deaths in New Hampshire." Dean checks the car's clock. 

"We can be there by tomorrow morning. What do you know?"

"I'll tell you when you get there. Meet me at the Little Beaches Motel." 

"Does Ellen know about this?"

"Of course." Jo says a little too quickly. 

"Jo..." 

"Mom knows." 

"Then you won't mind me calling her and checking right?"

"Look Dean, Mom's been tagging along since the Roadhouse burned down and I can't take it anymore. She won't let me out of her sight and she won't let me hunt alone. All I'm asking is that you help me out on this one case so I don't have to deal with her evil eye for five seconds. Now, are you going to give me a hand or should I start calling other hunters I know?” 

"Fine. But Ellen better be okay with this." 

"Thanks Dean." Jo ended the call and Dean filled Sam in before phoning Ellen. She confirms that she is perfectly fine with it. In fact, she was under the impression that Jo had already joined up with them. Castiel wondered if Ellen was the Winchesters' aunt. Dean certainly acted like she was. Alternating between awkward, scolded schoolboy and grown man dealing with a woman who was convinced he was still ten. He ends the conversation with a 'yes ma'am' and a snap of the flip phone. 

"So, Jo went behind Ellen's back. Again." Sam said, resigned. 

"Yeah, well, at least this time we're not in the middle of the firing range between them." The car is turned around and the head to their new case. Sam and Dean switch off driving so that the other can sleep and enter New Hampshire at dawn. 

The Little Beaches Motel is located, in fact, located on the beach. It is pet friendly and packed with people. There are dogs everywhere. A host of people are taking their pets out for walks while other throw balls across the sand. The Winchesters have to find Jo in order to get a room. Jo turns out to be a petite blond with a penchant for knives. She coos and scratches his ears when she sees him. 

"Aren't you adorable." Castiel moves his head away from her hand. Dean shuts the door after Sam hauls in a spare cot the front desk gave him. 

"Yeah, yeah. He's as cute as a button." The elder grumbles. 

"Looks like somebody forgot to get some coffee this morning." She tease before moving away and pulling out a folder. She spreads the contents across a flimsy table so that all three can look at them. "Five people have died in this town or neighboring towns in the last month. All were healthy surburanites who got chunks taken out of them. Two had their throats ripped out. It looks like a vampire bite." She pushed forward an autopsy picture. "Two others were found sliced open. Cops think it was a mugging gone wrong but there's not enough blood at the scene. I can't be sure about the last one, but he 'accidentally' went into a wood chipper." 

"Connection?" Dean asked, flipping through Jo's file on the first victim. 

"Each were entered in the dog show that's happening right now and each had their dogs disappear around the time they got offed." 

"Vampires doesn't make sense." Dean voiced. "Most of these were during the day."

"That's what I thought, but the bite marks match. They could be going out during the day to throw us off." 

"Why the dogs though? It's not like they are killing them off to stop them from altering the owners everyone either went missing during or after they died." Sam pointed out. 

"I'm thinking it has something to do with the dog show. Each dog had previously won prizes in the competitions."

"Could be personal." Dean theorized. "One last dig at the vics they offed." Jo hums at that. 

"Well, we'll figure it out soon enough. The competitions start in a few hours. There's still time to sign up." Sam and Dean looked at her. 

"You've got a pooch hidden in your shirt or something?" Dean asks. Jo rolls her eyes. 

"No dummy, we're entering your dog so we have an excuse to snoop around and talk to people." Castiel perked up. Entering the competition meant that he would have a chance to hunt down the monster with them. The Winchesters looked skeptical. 

"I don't know if you notice Jo, but our mutt isn't exactly show dog material." 

"Doesn't have to be. This is a big show, they've got a lot of different competitions for different kinds of dog owners. We'll enter him into one of the novice obedience events." She paused. "He is trained right?" 

Sam and Dean looked between them. Castiel got the distinct impression that they were communicating: 'did you?' 'no, did you?'

"Uh, he comes when he's called?" Sam eventually said. Jo rolls her eyes. 

"God, he's been with you how long and you didn't bother to train him?" 

"It's never been an issue." Dean said defensively. 

"Well, you better hope Buddy-" 

"Lucky," Sam interjected. 

" _Lucky_ comes latter today. I really don't want to spend the day chasing down a dog." Castiel huffed, slightly insulted that she would think he would behave so badly. Sam stomach grumbles and Dean's echoes it. 

"Well, if it's the same to you I don't want to spend the rest of the day on last night's McDonalds. Is there a dinner around here?" The elder Winchester asks. 

"There's a mom and pop restaurant just up the street. I could go for some food too." Coming to agreement, the four of them head out after the files have been hidden and guns stashed in the car. There would be too many people around to risk bringing them. Castiel tags along eagerly. It's the first hunt he can actively help out in and he is not going to waste this opportunity.


End file.
